Man shot Christmas Day pushes homicide tally to 127

OAKLAND -- A man shot in West Oakland on Christmas Day has pushed the homicide rate to the highest in five years.

Ronald Lewis, 32, of Oakland was shot multiple times at 24th and Chestnut streets about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday . His death is the 127th homicide of the year. The last time there were 127 homicides was in 2007.

No one has been arrested and no motive was immediately known in the drive-by shooting.

The man was taken to the trauma center at Highland Hospital, where he later died.

Meanwhile, a 23-year-old woman shot about 6 p.m. Christmas Eve at 11th Avenue and International Boulevard remains in critical condition.

Also Christmas Eve, 38-year-old woman inside Centro Evangelistico Bethel church on MacArthur Boulevard near 82nd Avenue was struck by a stray bullet while shielding her children about 9 p.m.

Police said the apparent target was the 17-year-old male who outside the church after leaving a liquor store that shares a parking lot with the church. He was wounded.

Anyone with information about the shootings should call Oakland police at 510-238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 510-77-8572 or 510-777-3211. There is a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the suspect or suspects in the homicide.